What I'm watching

Hi all, this tumblr mainly exists as a way of tracking all the movies I've been watching and some of the initial thoughts, and general feelings, I've had about them.

5/5 - Fantastic movies; movies which need to be seen and enjoyed by everyone.

4/5 - Movies which are very good but don’t have that spark which compels you to make others watch them as well.

3/5 - Average movies; watchable and enjoyable, but nothing which elevates them higher. The baseline all movies are given before watching.

2/5 - Can be watched but really bland and forgettable.

1/5 - Minimal to no reason to watch these films. It may have some redeeming factors e.g. it’s so bad it’s good or there’s one character that’s awesome enough to make it not a total waste of time.

0/5- Total waste of time. Nothing redeemable about these films.

As with every review blog/site, this is all my own personal opinion so feel free to take everything with a grain of salt.

Also I'm Scottish so all reviews will be in UK English. Get used to theatre, colour and words ending in -ised.

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Catching Elephant is a theme by Andy Taylor

 

#357/#74 Yes Man (Rewatch) Terminal no-er Carl Allen (Jim Carrey) is missing out on life by saying no to everything he could be saying yes to. When he attends a self help seminar on just saying yes however, his whole world view is turned on its head, as he has to say yes to everything he’s asked or face the universe’s wrath. Soon he’s living life more, reconnecting with old friends and maybe even finding love. This one got overlooked by a lot of people because it seemed very similar in tone to one of Carrey’s earlier films (Liar Liar) and that’s a shame. While it’s not the most overall engaging or inventive of films it does have a real feel good factor to it that shouldn’t be overlooked. It’s one of Carrey’s funnier comedy roles of late and by the end of it you really like all of the characters involved throughout the story. It also allows for a whole raft of interesting yeses to occur while letting the audience see how opening up to different possibilities can lead a person to a completely different destination. The only thing I don’t like all that much about the film is Zooey Deschanel as the love interest. On paper she’s the perfect person for the role, given that she’s a manic pixie girl in every films she’s in, but the age different and the different comedic timings between the two actors means they never really connect successfully. I don’t dislike her, or even her character, but she just doesn’t mesh well with the vibe and tone Carrey had already established for the film. That said, it’s never enough to take me out of the good time I’m having with the rest of the film. Fans of Carrey should check this out but really anyone that just likes a feel good film should as well. 4/5 P.S. This film was loosely based of a British book called Yes Man by Danny Wallace and it’s 10 times better than this already rather enjoyable film. It’s very British, very funny, has only a fraction of the romance and deals more with why this man suddenly undertakes this endeavour rather than just saying the universe is going to punish him if he doesn’t. Even if you give the film a miss I’d definitely recommend giving the book a read.

#357/#74 Yes Man

(Rewatch)

Terminal no-er Carl Allen (Jim Carrey) is missing out on life by saying no to everything he could be saying yes to. When he attends a self help seminar on just saying yes however, his whole world view is turned on its head, as he has to say yes to everything he’s asked or face the universe’s wrath. Soon he’s living life more, reconnecting with old friends and maybe even finding love.

This one got overlooked by a lot of people because it seemed very similar in tone to one of Carrey’s earlier films (Liar Liar) and that’s a shame. While it’s not the most overall engaging or inventive of films it does have a real feel good factor to it that shouldn’t be overlooked. It’s one of Carrey’s funnier comedy roles of late and by the end of it you really like all of the characters involved throughout the story. It also allows for a whole raft of interesting yeses to occur while letting the audience see how opening up to different possibilities can lead a person to a completely different destination.

The only thing I don’t like all that much about the film is Zooey Deschanel as the love interest. On paper she’s the perfect person for the role, given that she’s a manic pixie girl in every films she’s in, but the age different and the different comedic timings between the two actors means they never really connect successfully. I don’t dislike her, or even her character, but she just doesn’t mesh well with the vibe and tone Carrey had already established for the film.

That said, it’s never enough to take me out of the good time I’m having with the rest of the film. Fans of Carrey should check this out but really anyone that just likes a feel good film should as well. 4/5

P.S. This film was loosely based of a British book called Yes Man by Danny Wallace and it’s 10 times better than this already rather enjoyable film. It’s very British, very funny, has only a fraction of the romance and deals more with why this man suddenly undertakes this endeavour rather than just saying the universe is going to punish him if he doesn’t. Even if you give the film a miss I’d definitely recommend giving the book a read.

#255 Disney’s A Christmas Carol The classic Charles Dickens tale of Ebenezer Scrooge (Jim Carrey) being haunted by three ghosts on the eve of Christmas in order to break him of his callous and retched ways. A touch early for a Christmas movie but what the Hell. Everyone has seen at least one version of this story at some point in their lives. It doesn’t matter if it’s George C Scott giving the role a bit of class or the muppets having a laugh with the concept, the same broad strokes are always present throughout. It’s hard to have a poor telling of this story and this film does not buck this trend. While not the biggest fan of the performance capture technique director Robert Zemeckis seems to have been favouring over the last couple of years (if you’ve got the actors anyway why not just film them instead of making them CGI?) it does provide an interesting and more immersive Dickensian world than shooting on a sound stage or location might provide. While this does create another take on the story we haven’t previously seen, the whole experience feels little more than set dressing on an already decorated set. The effects are pretty but largely unneeded. Carrey actually pulls off a rather good Scrooge in this version. It seemed like an odd casting choice but Carrey continually surprises me whenever he turns his hand to more serious acting. You’re so used to him playing the buffoon you forget he can turn it off on occasion to give us a Truman show or an Eternal Sunshine. I wasn’t quite sold on his reformed Scrooge at the end but other than that I think his performance was as good as any Scrooge that has come before him. Where I really think he shone however, was as the Ghost of Christmas Present. The bigger than life jolliness of the character just gelled really well with his voice and expressions. Other than Carrey however the rest of the cast were a bit of a let down. A Christmas Carol is definitely ‘the Scrooge show’ in terms of time present on screen but usually you can have a good Bob Cratchit as well. Gay Oldman didn’t really add anything to this picture as either Cratchit or Jacob Marley, Scrooge’s dead business partner. Additionally Colin Firth, Bob Hoskins and Cary Elwes are all lending their vocal talents and facial expressions but blink and you’ll miss them. Overall, I still got a kick out of the story, I still felt as uplifted and as ready to go out to be a better person after the films completion as I am after every version  and the effects were interesting enough to hold your attention that the little annoyances didn’t really bother you by the end. Were it on TV of a festive night I would happily sit down to watch it again but I wouldn’t seek it out of my own vocation as my Christmas Carol of choice (you’ve always got to go Muppets for that.) 4/5

#255 Disney’s A Christmas Carol

The classic Charles Dickens tale of Ebenezer Scrooge (Jim Carrey) being haunted by three ghosts on the eve of Christmas in order to break him of his callous and retched ways.

A touch early for a Christmas movie but what the Hell.

Everyone has seen at least one version of this story at some point in their lives. It doesn’t matter if it’s George C Scott giving the role a bit of class or the muppets having a laugh with the concept, the same broad strokes are always present throughout. It’s hard to have a poor telling of this story and this film does not buck this trend.

While not the biggest fan of the performance capture technique director Robert Zemeckis seems to have been favouring over the last couple of years (if you’ve got the actors anyway why not just film them instead of making them CGI?) it does provide an interesting and more immersive Dickensian world than shooting on a sound stage or location might provide. While this does create another take on the story we haven’t previously seen, the whole experience feels little more than set dressing on an already decorated set. The effects are pretty but largely unneeded.

Carrey actually pulls off a rather good Scrooge in this version. It seemed like an odd casting choice but Carrey continually surprises me whenever he turns his hand to more serious acting. You’re so used to him playing the buffoon you forget he can turn it off on occasion to give us a Truman show or an Eternal Sunshine. I wasn’t quite sold on his reformed Scrooge at the end but other than that I think his performance was as good as any Scrooge that has come before him. Where I really think he shone however, was as the Ghost of Christmas Present. The bigger than life jolliness of the character just gelled really well with his voice and expressions.

Other than Carrey however the rest of the cast were a bit of a let down. A Christmas Carol is definitely ‘the Scrooge show’ in terms of time present on screen but usually you can have a good Bob Cratchit as well. Gay Oldman didn’t really add anything to this picture as either Cratchit or Jacob Marley, Scrooge’s dead business partner. Additionally Colin Firth, Bob Hoskins and Cary Elwes are all lending their vocal talents and facial expressions but blink and you’ll miss them.

Overall, I still got a kick out of the story, I still felt as uplifted and as ready to go out to be a better person after the films completion as I am after every version  and the effects were interesting enough to hold your attention that the little annoyances didn’t really bother you by the end. Were it on TV of a festive night I would happily sit down to watch it again but I wouldn’t seek it out of my own vocation as my Christmas Carol of choice (you’ve always got to go Muppets for that.) 4/5

#67 I Love You, Philip Morris The true life story of Steven Russell (Jim Carrey), and the lengths he goes to, to be with the man he loves, Philip Morris (Ewan McGregor). I’m kind of amazed this film slipped by as quietly under the radar as it did. It touches on a lot of serious subjects, including AIDS and homosexuality, pretty heavily and from what I can gather, didn’t seem to get a rise out of all the groups you would normally think would. Especially with 2 pretty big name actors attached to it. I enjoyed this film a lot. I though it managed to deal with the issues mentioned, show the love which can exist between two men in a really positive light and still be funny. Additionally, at no point did it feel preachy, making it an all round entertaining film. Carrey was really good in his role. He was a bit more reserved than he can be, playing the role more the way he has in his serious roles, while still allowing the crazy to shine through when needed. Also the people who complement Christian Bale on the weight lose he had to go through for the Machinist should check out what Carrey had to do for this role. It’s maybe not quite as impressive because he’s not that buff/fat to begin with, but still it’s pretty impressive none the less. McGregor has kind of fallen out of the public eye, at least in my mind, over the last couple of years, but it was good to see him show up in this. While this is definitely Carrey’s movie, McGregor does do a great job at playing the shyer Philip, while still emoting to the part when needed. Maybe not a film for everyone but good none the less. 3/5.

#67 I Love You, Philip Morris

The true life story of Steven Russell (Jim Carrey), and the lengths he goes to, to be with the man he loves, Philip Morris (Ewan McGregor).

I’m kind of amazed this film slipped by as quietly under the radar as it did. It touches on a lot of serious subjects, including AIDS and homosexuality, pretty heavily and from what I can gather, didn’t seem to get a rise out of all the groups you would normally think would. Especially with 2 pretty big name actors attached to it.

I enjoyed this film a lot. I though it managed to deal with the issues mentioned, show the love which can exist between two men in a really positive light and still be funny. Additionally, at no point did it feel preachy, making it an all round entertaining film.

Carrey was really good in his role. He was a bit more reserved than he can be, playing the role more the way he has in his serious roles, while still allowing the crazy to shine through when needed. Also the people who complement Christian Bale on the weight lose he had to go through for the Machinist should check out what Carrey had to do for this role. It’s maybe not quite as impressive because he’s not that buff/fat to begin with, but still it’s pretty impressive none the less.

McGregor has kind of fallen out of the public eye, at least in my mind, over the last couple of years, but it was good to see him show up in this. While this is definitely Carrey’s movie, McGregor does do a great job at playing the shyer Philip, while still emoting to the part when needed.

Maybe not a film for everyone but good none the less. 3/5.